Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) are mesmerising to watch – they are a pelagic species which means that they passively float through the water, wherever the tide takes them! Moon Jellyfish get their name from their moon-like appearance – the four circles on top of their body are actually their gonads and are used in reproduction, with stomach filling the space around them.
Jellyfish eat by first paralysing their prey through the stinging cells on their tentacles. The unfortunate prey is then sucked up into their body, aided by the pulsing movement of the bell part of the body.
Jellyfish are eaten by a number of animals including sea turtles, sharks, penguins and large fish. Due to their largely see-through appearance they are regularly mistaken for plastic bags floating through the water. For this reason, a staggering 52% of the world’s sea turtles are thought to have eaten plastic waste.
Type
Invertebrate
What do they eat?
Plankton, crustaceans, small fish
Size
40cm
Water Type
Cold saltwater
Where are we?
North Atlantic, UK coasts
See Us At
Sunken Shipwreck
Conservation
We can reduce our impact on Sea Turtles and the environment by adopting a few alternatives to our lifestyle.